The Heart of the Matter Is
by Duchess Michelle
Summary: Sequel to The Truth of the Matter Is. Originally posted as So It Seems. Now reposting. Buffy and Spike return from their vacation only to be pulled back into the fold with Angel & company. There's a new evil brewing and Buffy and Spike are smack dab in the middle of it. Revelations will be made and relationships will be tested in the coming days.


**Chapter 1 – Remember the Mission**

_Angel's office at Wolfram & Hart_

"Looks like I'm going back to Rome guys," Angel told them as they walked through the doors of his office.

"Why would you go back there?" Spike asked.

"Oh! Maybe you could drop by and tell Dawn we said hello… if you have the time." Buffy said excitedly.

"The key you're looking for can be found in the Vatican" Wesley said as he entered behind them. "Hi guys. It's in one of their vaults. I believe it can be found in the legendary Pope Joan's hidden vault, the supposed female that was pope for a time. They still have a vault for her and have her things hidden there, but it is in the furthest depths of the Vatican. They don't want anyone discovering that she really existed."

"Thanks Wes. Are you coming with?"

"If you're going into the Vatican searching for some great relic I'm going with you bro," Gunn said entering the office.

"We having a reunion or somethin'?" Lorne asked.

"Not quite," Wesley replied. "But if you think you need me with you Angel, I'll come."

"I could definitely use you by my side Wes."

"Whoa!" Spike said, halting the conversation he'd been trying to follow. Buffy placed her hand on his arm gently and he calmed slightly. "What are we going after and when do we leave?" he asked with a grin.

Buffy rolled her eyes and said point blank to Spike, "I thought _we_ were done with this."

Everyone else stopped for a moment. Angel started feeling uncomfortable and the others felt a definite awkwardness.

Spike looked at Buffy. "Sorry love. I just don't know if we can really give this up. Do you think we can just walk away from it all?"

Buffy looked at him seriously, "What did we just do when we went away? We walked away from all this. We could've stayed there. I wish I had." She turned from him.

Spike wrapped his arms around her waist, totally ignoring the others in the room. He whispered in her ear, "I wish we had stayed too, but we didn't. We're here now and there's work to be done. Remember the mission, love. Right?"

"Yeah right, fuck the mission Spike! Fuck this! If you go to Rome I won't be here when you get back." After she said that she walked out of the room, pushing back the tears until she was far enough away that he wouldn't smell them.

Spike turned back to the others. "So, where were we?"

"Right," Angel said. He felt a pang of conscience at the thought that he hadn't told Spike or Buffy what it was exactly that they were going after, and that it concerned them.

"Angel, you need to tell them," Fred said, entering the room and walking forward. "They deserve to know. You know it's the right thing to do."

"Yeah, yeah." There was a pause.

"Tell us what?" Spike asked. "What in the bleedin' 'ell is goin' on 'ere?"

"This isn't just some everyday stop-a-demon mission, Spike. There's a new prophecy."

"Oh, great, a prophecy. Who cares?"

"Well, you should," Angel said flatly.

"Oh? And why is that?" Spike asked curiously.

"Because it's about you… and Buffy, as far as we can tell anyway."

"More accurately it refers to a vampire and a slayer and their forbidden love, the greatest love of all time. It's a love that can save us all, or destroy us all depending on the two in question and the key that can control their love," Wesley explained.

"Bollocks. You tell me this now. And you think that the greatest love of all time is what Buffy and I have?" Spike looked at Angel.

"I don't know, but if it is you… we need to get this key. If it's someone else we still need to get this key. We can't let the Senior Partners or any other Big Bad out there get their hands on it first. Agreed?"

"Yeah. I have to tell Buffy though. She'll think differently about this when it concerns… _us_."

"Yeah, I'm sure she will. We won't leave without you. We'll be heading out in a few hours so you have a little time to talk to her. How about you two meet me back here in 3 hours? That way we can talk about some of this stuff going on before we leave. Okay?"

"Sounds good mate. We'll see you then." Spike headed out to find Buffy.

Angel slumped down in his chair and noticed everyone else shuffling out of his office. "Thanks guys. I'll talk to you later."

Fred stayed for a moment. "You did the right thing Angel. You told Spike the truth. It'll all work out okay." She smiled warmly at Angel.

"I suppose so. It just seems so… strange right now. To know that their love is written. I thought it would be me and her not too long ago, and now it's Spike. It just feels strange. I still wish it was me. I still love her. I suppose I always will, but I just want her to be happy… even if it's with him."

"That's what makes you the champion. You care enough to let her go, and that's a lot." Fred walked over and kissed him on the cheek before walking out of the office.

Spike didn't have to walk far to find Buffy. He got in the elevator and there she was slumped in the corner with tears running down her cheeks. His heart nearly broke at the sight of her.

"Love, pet, baby, I'm so sorry."

"But you lied to me… again!"

"I know, but it wasn't a lie when I said it. I didn't know this would happen. I love you. You're what matters to me. You know that, right?"

"I know I matter. But…" _sniffle _ "I just want…" _sniffle_ "To matter more than…" _sniffle_ She waved her arms.

Spike tilted her chin up and leaned in to kiss her, quieting her for now. The kiss deepened and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled them up. He pushed her against the elevator wall and broke the kiss to let her breathe.

"There's something I have to tell you Buffy," Spike began while she was catching her breath.

Wesley came back into Angel's office. "You didn't tell them everything."

"I know."

"You don't know how to say it."

"Yes."

"And you don't want it to be true."

"Yes."

"You'll have to tell them eventually or they'll find out on their own."

"I know."

"It'll be better if they hear it from you."

"I know."

"Buffy, love…"

She opened her eyes to gaze into his as she listened to what he had to say.

"There's a prophecy… about us."

Her eyes widened. "Oh."

"Yeah, love."

"And Angel…"

"He told me after you left. I think it's hitting him kinda hard."

Buffy nodded.

"So…"

"We'll go, Spike. We'll go."

They kissed again.

"They'll have to know that there will be a child involved," Angel said.

"It will be better if they know."

"Yes, just as it would've been better if I had known more about Connor before he was born."

"Yes, but prophecies are tricky things. We don't even know anything about their child yet. All we know is that there will be one."

"I know, and you're right Wes. They need to know, even if we don't know anything more right now."

"Yes, they do."

"But how do I tell them?"

_To be continued…_


End file.
